Grandparents’ home on Crescent Street may be long gone, but warm memories remain

By Lois Ross - Special to the Post

The original building at 112 Crescent St. was built in 1903 by L.B. (Bricky) Stevenson’s father and it was the first job he had in Sydney. The double house was constructed for the Burns brothers, one of whom was a dentist, and it consisted of 12 rooms on each side, with two bathrooms on each side.

In 1911, Jim Burns died and the remaining brother sold the house to the Presbyterian Church and they established a group home for girls called The Door of Hope, which closed in 1927.

The house remained vacant until 1930, when J.B. Morrison and his son, Alex C. (owners of Morrison’s Men’s Wear), purchased the home and renovated it into apartments. The home was sold again in the early 1950s.

As you can see in the photo, both apartments on the first floor had huge bay windows in front. My grandparents, J.B. and Bessie, lived on the right-hand side, while Uncle Alex lived on the left. In the backyard there were once two lovely cherry trees — Uncle Alex chopped one down, as he needed parking space in the back — but I have vivid memories of the one on Grandpa’s side. It yielded beautiful blossoms in spring and delicious, big cherries. In the spacious backyard, some tenants had a vegetable garden and as children, when romping around, we had to be careful not to trample them. The property extended quite a few yards back to a fence.

Visiting my grandparents in the 1940s was always an adventure for the grandkids. Usually after dinner the old folks would take a nap and we were free to explore all the staircases and nooks and crannies this huge home possessed. It was a different era, when life was simpler and a lot slower. For instance, while on my many visits to my grandma’s house, occasionally I’d see a hobo eating in the kitchen. When my mother questioned grandma’s wisdom in taking them in, she always replied: “But they are hungry, and I can’t refuse them.”

Well, bottom line, one hobo must have told the other guy, because she fed a lot of them in her day.

Next door lived a Campbell family, very devout Catholics who raised a big family, among them two priests and one nun. Grandma and Mrs. Campbell shared a great relationship as neighbours, even though we all went to separate schools (one for Protestants and the other for Catholics). There was a bit of friction among the two religions when I was growing up, especially in hockey, before we all merged together at Sydney Academy.

Grandma was also great friends with Mrs. Lynch, who lived across Wentworth Park on Byng Avenue, and she always enjoyed Mrs. Lynch’s parties where she played the piano. Grandpa never drove. Uncle Alex had a car but Grandma had to rely on taxis a lot to get around, as she needed a cane to help her walk. There was never a time when she didn’t have a treat for the taxi driver, either an apple, a cookie, or a cinnamon bun. In retrospect, I think my grandmother was the kindest person I ever knew.

We can be grateful for God’s blessings throughout the year, but the gift of giving and trust has become overshadowed by fear and danger.

Yes, they were simpler days of carefree play and wholesome values, which is no wonder why we always refer to them as the “good old days.”

There were other notable families who lived on Crescent Street, such as the MacDonalds, the MacQueens (who had racehorses in the barn) and the MacIntyre family, one of whom became a police chief, another a professional hockey player who later established a car business, and another a teacher. One of the daughters, Mazie, used to take me for walk as a child.

Robbie Robertson, longtime radio broadcaster for CJCB, the Oulton family, the MacLeans (a dentist), the McCoubreys, the Williams’s, Boudreaus, Doucets and the hundreds of tenants who lived in Crescent Apartments over the years were also friends and neighbours.

In 1984, the Campbell house was used to film a segment of the well-known Canadian film, “The Bay Boy,” starring Kiefer Sutherland and directed by Glace Bay native Dan Petrie.

Ironically, a good friend of mine now lives at 112 Crescent St., where another house now stands after the original structure was lost in a fire years ago, so I always tease her: “You’re living on hallowed grounds.”

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Sharon McLaughlin

February 09, 2013 - 19:56

When I was 6 years old my mom, dad and brother moved into the second floor apartment on the left side, known as 114 Crescent Street. This was 1965. We lived there while my brother and I attended Argyle School and most of JR. High until my parents bought our home in the south end. Alex Morrison and his wife lived on the first floor below us. The Payne's were above us. There was a Hugh back yard we all played in. There was a nice size closed in front porch. Lots of good memories.